An endocrine tumour is a rare illness that affects the cells that release hormones into the bloodstream. He had first tweeted on 5 March saying that he was suffering from a “rare disease” and later revealed what it was.

He is India’s best-known international actor and has also featured in a wide range of well-received roles in Bollywood and independent Hindi films.

In 2013, he won India’s National Film Award for his leading role in Paan Singh Tomar, a biopic about a top athlete who becomes a bandit.

He has also won the Viewers’ Choice Award at the Cannes Film Festival for his portrayal of a lonely accountant who mistakenly receives a lunchbox intended for a colleague in the 2013 film The Lunchbox.

It was also the only Indian film to be selected for competition at the London Film Festival that year.